Year in China

Accredited

Do you want to pursue a high-level research career as a professional chemist? If so, this is the degree for you. The final year brings you to the frontiers of chemistry when you join one of the research teams in the department.

All our programmes have a common chemistry core in the first two years, differing only in optional modules, which can be chosen from chemistry or non-chemistry courses. This provides a good measure of flexibility and choice for you during the first two years.

The structure of Years One and Two of this programme is identical to that of MChem Chemistry with Research in Industry. These first two years progress rapidly, with a mix of theory and practical modules to give you a solid grounding in the subject. Since students enter the Department with a wide range of experience in mathematics (which is essential for studying chemistry to a high level) we provide a flexible tiered maths for chemistry course allowing you to develop your skills at your own pace.

By Year Three you will be a proficient chemist, and you will be able to extend your knowledge in the three traditional branches of chemistry and in the cross-disciplinary subject catalysis. You will also be offered a choice of more advanced optional chemistry modules. Practical courses are organised more as mini-projects and provide more challenge than the ‘instructional’ courses encountered in the first two years.

In your final year, you will take a range of advanced core modules in inorganic, physical and organic chemistry and can tailor your studies to choose high-level modules in areas that interest you and that are related to our research areas. Chemical research is particularly important in Year Four and involves you conducting a significant project as a member of one of the research groups in the Department.

Department Key Facts

Number of first year students

136 Year One undergraduates in 2017

UK league tables

5th in the Times Good University Guide 2018, 7th in the Guardian University Guide 2018 and 10th in the Complete University Guide 2019

National Student Survey

Research performance

Ranked 1st in the UK for 4* and 3* research in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 (THE 2014)

Facts and figures

96% student satisfaction (MChem KIS 2016)

Why this subject?

Thrive in our award-winning undergraduate laboratories

Our £23 million Central Teaching Laboratories offer a unique environment for the study of physical sciences. Chemistry occupies the top floor, which houses synthetic chemistry and physical chemistry labs with new equipment for a wide range of experiments. The new £468 million ‘Materials Innovation Factory’ is a state-of-the-art materials chemistry research hub funded in collaboration with Unilever and the Government. As an undergraduate, this new facility will be accessible to you during your final year research project.

Learn in a culture of research excellence

We are ranked top in the UK for our research and have world-leading groups in materials chemistry, energy and catalysis, functional interfaces, medicinal and bio-nano chemistry, and theoretical and computational chemistry. We have increased our research in renewable energy and sustainable chemistry, and have created the Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy which is at the forefront of research and is instrumental in a range of new Chemistry programmes available to all our undergraduates. Our excellence in research strongly influences our teaching, and ensures that you are engaged in frontier science in optional modules and in project work.

Gain professional accreditation

Our MChem programmes have master accreditation from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and our BSc programmes have bachelor accreditation ensuring your degree with us will set you on the pathway to a successful career. Please note: Chemistry for Sustainable Energy is a new programme and is preparing for accreditation.

Benefit from flexible degree programmes

You have the flexibility to change degree programmes once you are studying here (provided, of course, you meet the requirements of that programme). We also have optional Chemistry courses in every year of study, so you can tailor your general Chemistry degree to fit your interests and requirements. You may even wish to explore modules from other departments such as Life Sciences or Archaeology.

Bring your learning to life through our Virtual Learning Environment

We integrate e-learning into teaching alongside traditional teaching methods. Our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) supports all aspects of your studies, and is available via smartphone and tablet as well as PC, ensuring the resources you need are always at your fingertips. You’ll find lecture notes and supporting material, recorded lectures, pre-laboratory information, problems and practice questions, assessed work, marking/feedback and vacation revision discussions on the VLE.

Immerse yourself in the study of Chemistry through our exceptional resources

ChemTube3D (www.chemtube3d.com) is our unique website housing interactive 3D animations covering some of the most important topics in an undergraduate chemistry degree. We use this extensively in lectures and for self-study, and the website attracts thousands of visitors every day. In addition, we provide all chemistry students with books to cover the whole Chemistry programme in the first and second year, along with all the necessary safety equipment, completely free of charge.

Chemistry

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Study abroad

Our students have the exciting and distinctive opportunity of studying abroad at partners in China, USA, Canada and Australia. Studying abroad has huge personal and academic benefits, as well as giving you a head start in the graduate job market. For more information, visit www.liverpool.ac.uk/goabroad.

Year in China

The Year in China is the University of Liverpool’s exciting flagship programme offering undergraduate students from a huge range of departments, including Chemistry, the opportunity to spend one year at our partner university Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), following XJTLU’s BA China Studies degree classes. See our Year in China page for more information.

Our new research internship module gives chemistry students experience of working in a research environment abroad. The placements are mainly in Thailand at Chulalongkorn University.